"Alcohol is a hypnotic sedative and nervous system suppressive. Addiction to alcoholism has become a major social problem. Driving under influence of alcohol has become one of the common feature and cause of accidents today. As per studies carried out by NHTSA in 2006, Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents under influence of alcohol kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes in US alone.
In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 39% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (NHTSA 2006).
In 2006 there were 17,941 driving fatalities related to alcohol. This was 41 percent of the total 43,000 fatalities.
An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006).
Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol (Jones et al. 2003).
Each year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion (Blincoe et al. 2002).
Most drinking and driving episodes go undetected. In 2005, nearly 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (Department of Justice 2005). That's less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol?impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Quinlan et al. 2005).
Half of all holiday driving fatalities are alcohol-related.
Most people with DUIs are not alcoholics.
About 80 percent of alcohol-related fatalities are caused by beer consumption.
About two in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 1996)
In 2004, 30 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 51 percent on weekends. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate was 5 percent during the week and 12 percent during the weekend. alcohol-related crashes tend to be much more serious.
It is estimated that 2.6 million drunk driving crashes each year victimize 4 million innocent people who are injured or have their vehicles damaged.
Male drivers involved in fatal crashes were nearly twice as likely to have been intoxicated (21.8%) than were females (11.2%).
18-20 year olds are responsible for more than 10 percent of the drunken driving trips in America.
More than 2,300 anti-drunk driving laws have been passed since 1980.
In addition to possible jail time and fines, a DUI conviction is cause to have your insurance policy revoked and rates to skyrocket. Many people will be forced to get SR-22 insurance.
Ways to Avoid Driving Drunk:
Get a designated driver. Drink at locations within walking distance of your home. Call a cab. Search for services that will take both you and your car home if you are drunk. Look for public transportation in larger cities. Ask the bartender for help and let him know if you are the designated driver. Offer to pay for a cab or drive friends home if they are drunk. Drink nonalcoholic beverages.
Life is precious. It is in our hands to curb this menace."
There have been many cases in the state of Minnesota recently that have put drunk drivers into jail and worse, their licenses have been revoked permanently even. This is why it is importantly to be extremely careful when you are driving after a night out with friends. The legal alcohol limit has also been lowered so one must be even more careful not to be committing a criminal offense and putting the lives of others at jeopardy. In case you find yourself in such a situation by any chance, you must contact a Minnesota drunk driving lawyer immediately so he can guide you better to make your case more strong.
The reason that the state has approved such severe laws for drunk driving are so that people do not abuse their driving rights and do not put the lives of others at risk. The heavy punishments being handed out to offenders makes them be afraid to commit a DUI crime next time. Good Minnesota DUI lawyers can handle your case in a way so as not to get a permanent revoking of your driving license and not to implicate you in a jail term sentence. This is why a good lawyer must be chosen with caution.
Only in the state of Minnesota, you are allowed to consult a Minnesota DUI lawyer to discuss your predicament before the alcohol test is done. The chemical test will tell the police how much you were under alcoholic influence and whether it was under the legal limit or not. The concentration of alcohol present in your blood will also determine the outcome of your case. Contact a Minnesota DUI lawyer immediately to save yourself from any trouble. You can also contact a Minnesota DUI attorney from a telephone directory so they can give you a better understanding of your prevalent situation.
Getting a good Minnesota DUI lawyer will make or break your case and will be responsible for getting you a lighter sentence. This way you can get a chance to better defend your case and for your case to be presented wisely and clearly. You will also be told that in such a case there are actually two kinds of cases that are pending against you now. One is basically from the state department criminal case for driving under influence criminal charges. The other is an administrative case for Public safety which will try to get your license at least permanently suspended.
The major aspect of the sentence given out will remain in the hands of the law department and also with your Minnesota DUI attorney. It also depends on whether you are a first time offender or have a history of DUI criminal offenses on your record. For first time offenders and if your lawyer presents your case right, it will get you a fine and license suspension for a time period. But in case you are recurring offender for Minnesota drunk driving and come with second, third of forth offense, your sentence is bound to be harsher and may end up with jail time and a permanent license annulment.
Both Andy Taylor & Peter Gabriel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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